Rosswog Running Blog

Today was just a tough day for me running wise.  First, I slept in and could not resist eating a good breakfast, so I had to wait until the mid-afternoon to get in my run.  Second, my lower-hamstring-back-of-right-knee area was stiff and sore. However, I knew after a few miles I could get the soreness out of my knee, but I did not really want to go out for a long run today.  So I kept putting it off until I got tired of being lazy.  In the end, I was able to get in another day of 18.1 miles at an easy pace by running down to Fitts Park, then back to Big Cottonwood Park where I completed nine laps around the softball complex, then a loop around St. Mark’s Hospital before finishing up with an out and back to the Smith-Klin Chimney.  Almost my entire run was a grind, but the last few miles were enjoyable (even though I was running straight into the wind) in that I overcame all of my negative mental thoughts of why not to run and why I should cut my run short.

For my daily non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-ups.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge:  2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  serving of fruit, plenty of low-fat cottage cheese, and serving of whole-wheat pancakes (a whole new batch)

After work, I went for a quick 0.2-mile jog to test out the right knee and it was noticeably sore and stiff from sitting around all day.  Not wanting to risk anything, I jumped on the Elliptical Machine and ran for an even 5.0 miles.  This considerably improved the range of motion for my right leg, it still feels week.

My daily non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups and a 100-second wall sit.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge:  2:15

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  serving green beans and a big salad

I tested my right knee out this morning with another 0.2-mile jog and it felt stronger, but still sore.  If I jogged for a few miles, I’m confident I would be able to run 8:30 miles on it.  However, I really need to get this knee soreness over with sooner than later.  As a result, hit the elliptical for the second day in a row and knocked out 7.3 miles at an easy pace. 

In regards to my daily non-running workout, I completed 300 sit-ups, a 100-second wall sit, 60 (50 lbs) curls, and 20 (50 lbs) reverse curls

Five-Minute Plank Challenge:  2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of mixed fruit, serving green beans, and whole-wheat rice

On my 0.2-mile jog this morning, my right knee felt stronger and less sore, thus progress is being made.  After work I was able to get in 5.3 miles on the elliptical machine before calling it a day. 

My daily non-running workout just consisted of 300 sit-ups and a 100-second wall sit.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge:  2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  whole-wheat pancakes, a serving of mixed fruit, and a serving green beans

My right knee is a little bit sorer today, but maybe a little stronger?  Progress is going to be slow on this one.  Anyway, I did complete a 5k on the elliptical after work before heading home.  After catching the end of the BYU-Florida game, I did test my knee out with a one-mile jog around the neighborhood.  It felt a little bit better this evening and we’ll see how it holds up during Saturday’s 5k.

For my non-running workout, I was able to get in 300 sit-ups and a 100-second wall sit.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge:  2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of mixed fruit

My right knee felt a little bit better, but after working all day at my cubicle (same way for the last week) it’s always sore and stiff when I go to workout.  However, today I kept a frozen water bottle on had to massage my knee.  With the EHS 5k tomorrow, I just decided to keep to the elliptical machine with a little jog afterwards.  In total, I was able to get in an even 14.0 miles at an easy pace.

My non-running routine consisted of 300 sit-ups and a 100-second wall sit.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge:  2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of oatmeal for breakfast

This morning I woke up nice and early to test my knee out.  It was a little stiff and sore, but nothing bad.  So to get to the Running of the Leopards 5k, I jogged up to East High School then up to the Hogle Zoo.  Arriving a good twenty minutes ahead of the 8:30 am start, I decided--for old times sake--to run up Crestview Drive and a little ways down Wasatch Drive.  It seemed like my right knee and stride became more normal with each mile.  However, on the way to the This-Is-The-Place-State-Park starting line, I realized that my right knee was not too fond of running downhill (i.e., my stride just became choppy and short).  After my 8.5-mile warm-up run, considering the Running of the Leopards is a downhill race, I was a little bit nervous.  However, this 5k is for a good cause and just for fun, so before the starting gun went off, I began to relax. 

I started off a little bit conservative, but after the first half of a mile I started to gain my range of motion with my right leg, which started to feel a lot more comfortable with running downhill.  At the one-mile mark, the best part of the race, at least for me, happened.  A runner that was on my six yelled out “LOUDER!” at the volunteer reading off the split times.  I have no idea why, but these types of remarks (even just a single word) from passionate, vocal, and slightly stressed out runners just crack me up.  For some reason, I just find them way too funny.  So my mind began to race about why doesn’t this runner wear a watch and this is just the front half of the main pack of a Saturday morning 5k.  As a result, while leaving Research Park I was just trying to keep my composure.  Seriously, these runners and their level of passion just make running fun and entertaining.  The good news was that my mind was not continuously thinking about my sore right knee and I eventually refocused on picking up the pace the rest of the way.  I finished with an official time of 16:47 with the following splits: 5:28, 5:23, 5:16, and 0:40.  Also, the first place woman just dusted me on the track; it was a pretty awesome closing kick!

By the way, Fast Running Blog was well represented with Allie, James, Rob, and Steve who all ran solid races.  It was great to finally meet and talk to Steve and I just have a feeling that the D-News Marathon is going to be extra fast this year with so many strong runners participating.  I cannot wait!

Finally, it was totally my day because I won a raffle prize at the race (this never happens).  The prizes seemed to be all Utah Jazz related (needless to say, my favorite team) and of course, I did not win the Jazz t-shirt, but a huge Jazz blanket that was folded up and compacted into a plastic package that was the size of a kid’s backpack.  Hugging the blanket with my right arm and with the red tote backpack of race goodies slung over my left shoulder, I jogged down to the City Library to pick up a few books before jogging back to home for a total of 9.1 miles.  I dropped off everything then went out for a 6.0 mile errand run up to the Holladay Library to pick up a few more books then I stopped by Great Harvest to cash in my free bread punch card before returning home and calling it day running wise.

My non-running workout consisted of 300 sit-ups and a 100-second wall sit.

Five-Minute Plank Challenge:  2:00

Trying-To-Go-Out-Of-My-Way-To-Eat-Healthy Challenge:  a serving of mixed fruit